WFF Celebrates the Top 50 Women in Finance on International Women's Day

In 2021, Statista reported that women’s mean weekly earnings in the financial sector were just 60% of that of their male counterparts.?

On International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating the women in finance who are breaking the bias.?

These women are helping shift the entire landscape of leadership and finance culture, away from the traditional ‘boys club’ and proving that diverse, inclusive, and equitable workplaces aren’t something for the future, they are required right now.?

Check out our list of 50 women changing the game and be sure to join their networks on LinkedIn. You can catch over 40 of them speaking at one of our upcoming events as we endeavour to always have truly diverse line-ups.

This is only a snapshot of a growing trend across the finance function, so if you know a woman truly excelling in her finance career, tag her in the comments ??

1. Kate Curnow, Deputy GM Business Administration, Honda Motor Europe

Kate is passionate about enabling the wider finance team to bring value to the business and become strategic business partners.?

2. Erica Ingham, CFO, Global Software Resilience, NCC Group

Erica has responsibility for global teams, covering the UK, EU, and North America, including a $220m acquisition of Iron Mountain's Software escrow business, IPM.?

3. Maria Koliago, Finance Director, Projects CHQ, Reckitt Benckiser

A finance leader with 25+ years of business and finance experience, Maria started out as a Chartered Accountant and has recently moved to a Senior Management Consulting role.?

4. Netsai Mangwende, CFO, GroupM UK

Netsai has been recognised for her achievements in finance, advocacy for inclusion, and is listed as one of the 100 most influential black people in Britain on the Powerlist, BAME Board Talent Index and EMpower Ethnic Minority Executives. Netsai is also named as one of the 100 Women to Watch by Cranfield University and was accorded Women in the City’s Highly Commended Award.

5. Birte Trenkner, Global Head of Accounting & Financial Management, Allianz Global Investors

Birte has been at Allianz Global Investors for over seven years, and has overseen financial management, accounting processes and policies, transfer pricing and tax, and numerous global projects.?

6. Abby Obomighe, Group FP&A Director, Spectris

An experienced FCCA, Abby is currently specializing in Business Partnering, project management, business analysis, and Financial Planning & Analysis.

7. Ekaterina Smirnova, Head of FP&A, Cromos Pharma

Ekaterina is a skilled economist with 10+ years of finance management experience including consulting for local enterprises and performing FP&A for international multi-country companies.

Her other areas of expertise are models for investment projects preparation, management accounting system setting up and maintenance and business support for opening offices in new countries. She has successfully transitioned to the role of the finance business partner and introduced the notion of business partnership throughout the company as well as close cooperation with IT for FP&A process automation.

8. Anais Lempereur, SVP, Finance, Streaming, Paramount

Anais is an entrepreneurial finance leader and operator specialized in building and scaling organizations in periods of high growth and uncertainty, interested in mission-driven, transformational, business models which challenge traditional industries through technology.

9. Vidhya Srinivasan, CFO, Bata India Limited

Vidhya has over 15 years of experience in Strategy, Business Planning, Commercial, Finance & Accounting Management. She develops, communicates, and executes on comprehensive business plans as a member of the leadership team at Bata, and previously Puma.

10. Jessica Gerr, Global IBP Lead, Cargill

Jessica’s career at Cargill began as University Recruiter, and she has progressed through to the Global Integrated Business Planning Lead for the global edible oils business serving customers around the world.?

11. Natasha Orlova, Managing Director, North America, Global Edible Oils Solutions, Cargill

Natasha began her career at Cargill in 1993 as the only accountant at the newly opened Moscow Cargill representative office, and is now MD of the GEOS function at Cargill, having led the FP&A function for five years.?

12. Liz Martin-Quinn, VP, FP&A, Victra - Verizon Authorized Retailer

Liz is an experienced Vice President FP&A with a demonstrated history of working in the retail & manufacturing industries. Skilled in Team Building, Cash Flow, Analytical Skills, Financial Forecasting, and Cross-functional Team Leadership.

13. Kseniya Maiorova, Finance Business Partner, Acting Finance Operations Group Manager, Kaspersky

Beginning her career as a trainee in the FP&A department, over the past 8 years Kseniya has grown into a strategic business partner, now operating as a full time Finance Business Partner and Acting Finance Operations Group Manager at Kaspersky.?

14. Anne-Raissa Yacé, Deputy Financial Controller, Bouygues UK

Anne-Raissa is a people-centered financial controller who empowers and inspires staff to develop, learn and grow in their skill set resulting in robust financial performance. She is deeply committed to diversity and belonging, being a proud member of The ISFP.?

15. Vandana Khanna, Director Digital Finance Transformation, Unilever

Vandana is responsible for leading the design and delivery of complex projects leveraging BI and Data Analytics to answer critical business questions, detecting consumer behavior, and providing creative solutions for a wide range of business challenges.

16. Carolina Veira, Director, Strategic Partnerships & CSR, CareMax Inc.

As a finance executive, Carolina has developed financial strategies and looked for competitive opportunities that positively impact the bottom line of organizations within the healthcare and energy industries.

She is part of The Hispanic Star Alliance, which works to elevate the stories and community while changing the perception of Hispanics in the U.S., from negative to positive, from invisible to invincible, from loud to proud.

17. Zoe Cooke, Finance Director, Journey Further

Zoe has built her career in the marketing and advertising industry, along with a background in start ups and E-Commerce. Whilst she wears many hats, her favorites are Business Partnering, Data Analytics, Strategic Planning, Forecasting, Planning and Analysis.

She was the proud recipient of 2018 Women in Advertising and Communications, London Future Leaders Award, the 2020/2021 Digital Finance Function Award for Improver of the year, as well as being a Bloom Mentor.

18. Aneshree Naidoo, Africa Chief Financial Officer, Webber Wentzel

Aneshree thrives by using technology and developing teams to grow financial results and drive business efficiency. Her preferred work environments are challenging and dynamic organizations, which offer continued learning experiences and opportunities to collaborate and build stronger footprints in expansive markets.

In return, she offers a diverse set of technical and interpersonal skills and is also supported by a strong and credible network of professionals alike.

19. Natasha Rathee, V.P, Head of Finance, Pharmaceuticals, Bayer Pharmaceuticals

Natasha has over 20+ years of finance experience in the FMCPG (Fast moving Consumer Packaged goods industry) working for both Kraft Foods and PepsiCo Beverages, as well as in the Pharmaceuticals industry in her current role as the Head of Finance for the Pharma division at Bayer.?

20. Wendy Chang Smith, CFO, Glanbia Performance Nutrition

Wendy boasts extensive corporate finance experience with increasing responsibilities in the following areas: E-commerce, Consumer products, Pharmaceuticals, Food, Performance Nutrition, and Medical Devices.?

21. Joanna Czechowska, Senior Analyst, Finance Services & Support

A strategic thinker, who brings creative anticipation, imagination, and persistence to her project work, Joanna is a high achiever with an affinity and passion for problem solving, capable of interpreting complex policies or technical data to design and deploy quality solutions.

She has a proven track record of sourcing and implementing ERP systems and supporting software solutions, as well as providing post go-live technical expertise to end users.

22. Tatiana Doncaster, Director, Finance, British Rowing

Tatiana is a Finance Director and Chartered Management Accountant with a broad range of experience in financial management of service and project based businesses within the marketing, pharmaceutical, defence, social care sports NGB and charity sectors; gained within domestic and international environments.

23. Charlene Abdul, Head of Finance, LLC, UAL

Charlene currently heads up the Finance Department at UAL, previously having been a business partner at Mole Valley District Council and prior to that at the University of Surrey, where she provided financial management and commercial support to the Estates (￡30m budget) IT (￡7m budget) HR (￡3m budget) and Marketing (￡15m budget) departments.

24. Tatiana Suvorova, CFO, UKI, Wella

Tatiana is an energetic and agile finance executive who has just made a jump to Sales. She has more than 15 years of experience in various financial management roles (country, headquarter, supply chain) and geographies (UK, Switzerland, Russia).

Her experience in large scale and smaller high complexity businesses have enhanced her hands on approach and now boasts an impressive track record of turnaround and change management.

25. Michelle Garrison, CFO, GetixHealth

An experienced Chief Financial Officer with a demonstrated history of working in the hospital & health care industry, Michelle is highly skilled in Negotiation, Business Planning, Sales, Team Building, and Construction.

She’s a strong finance professional with a Master's degree focused in Accounting and Finance from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University.

26. Anna Zhirnova, Finance Manager, Metapraxis

Anna has worked in different industries and has a firm understanding of different business models both in large corporations and start-ups.

Passionate about making businesses more efficient through digitalisation, tech and AI, Anna is an expert in utilizing financial analysis as a data-driven decision making tool, financial reporting and budgeting, financial optimisation, and commercial management.?

27. Afua Kyei, CFO, Bank of England

Afua is a CFO with a versatile skill set encompassing Corporate Finance, M&A, Strategic Cost Transformation, Planning, Analytics and Audit. She has demonstrated finance leadership of global teams in dynamic markets across the Bank of England, Retail Banking, Investment Banking and COO Functions.

With an international career across a broad range of Financial Institutions as Finance Director, Investment Banker and Auditor at Barclays, UBS and Ernst & Young, Afua is ambitious and passionate about customer, innovation and talent management.

28. Doris Grieshaber, Global Head of Finance Operations, Allianz Global Investors

Beginning her career at Allianz Global Investors in 2000 as an IT Project Manager, Doris is now the MD and Global Head of Finance Operations, recently establishing a robust data framework that enables data to become information that can be seen as an asset, enabling strategic and operative business steering.?

29. Ilana Esterrich, CFO, American Coatings Association

Ilana is an accomplished strategic and financial executive with extensive experience in strategy, finance, accounting, and operations.

She is a Steering Committee member of the Washing DC Chapter of the CFO Leadership Council, Advisory Council member of the Women in Leadership Executive Program at the GWUSoB, and a member of the Fundraising/Development Committee for Stem for Her.?

30. Anh Ho, Head of Finance, Civic Engineers

Starting out at PwC as an Audit Intern, Anh has risen through the ranks at the likes of Deloitte and SMG and now holds the position of Head of Finance at Civic Engineers, enabling the finance team to carry out the business vision of creating inspirational structures and places that have a positive impact on the environment.?

31. Martina Macpherson, Head of ESG Strategy, ODDO BHF

Martina is Head of ESG Strategy, and Member of the Global Management Committee, at ODDO BHF AM and PE. ODDO BHF is an independent Franco-German financial services group. It was created from the alliance of a French family-owned business built up by five generations of stockbrokers and a German bank specialising in Mittelstand companies.

She has been recognised as a strategic influencer (Commetric ESG Influencer Index, 2020, 2021; Modern Slavery Influencer Index, 2018) for her ESG strategy, product and research work in industry and academia.

32. Waheeda Shah, UK Finance Controller, QBE

Waheeda is a senior finance leader, with over 20 years experience in Banking and Finance roles. Currently holding the role of Financial Controller at QBE UK, Waheeda also acts as an advisor to CFOs, as well as delivering executive coaching.?

33. Ma?gorzata Szturmowicz, CFO, Booksy

A highly skilled, driven executive experienced in stimulating and structuring business growth in fast-changing, innovative environments, Ma?gorzata has led many exciting projects such as IDEA Group’s IPO, multiple M&A initiatives, subsidiary sales or new product launches.

As a leader, she strongly believes in teamwork as well as leadership through people by trusting, empowering and holding them accountable. Ma?gorzata is also passionate about achieving competitive edge through diversity.

34. Terra Fenwick, CFO, Utegration

A financial leader with skills in business analysis and operations, Terra supports growth through the practical application of strategies that achieve corporate objectives. Known for inspiring collaboration, she fosters environments characterized by ongoing communication.

Leveraging technologies that provide transparency into the business, Terra excels in streamlining the delivery of information that supports long-term success.

35. Thresa Giles, Chief Business Officer, PACE

Thresa is an experienced Chief Financial Officer and was awarded the Ultimate CFO Award by the Jacksonville Business Journal.

She has a demonstrated history of working in the corporate and non-profit organization management industry, as well as being skilled in Nonprofit Organizations, Cash Flow, Internal Audit, Analytical Skills, and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).

36. Tracie Ahern, CFO, PineBridge Investments

Tracie is a seasoned financial executive with over 28 years in the investment management industry, including 10 years of CFO experience with alternative and long only funds.

She served as the Audit Committee Chair and Independent Trustee for the Advisors Inner Circle Trust and Symmetry Funds and held board positions on numerous alternative funds.

37. Mary Beth Ottley, CFO, East West Hospitality

An experienced Corporate Financial and Information Technology Executive with a demonstrated history of working in the hospitality industry, Mary Beth is skilled in Financial Modeling, Data Modeling and Analysis, Application Implementation and Support, Budgeting, Customer Service, Project Management, Strategic Planning, Risk Management and Marketing Strategy.

38. Karina Padilla, CFO, Proterra

Karina is a proven Finance Executive with experience in the manufacturing of building products, diversified industrials and technology sectors for global corporations.

She is results-oriented with strong abilities in strategic and tactical planning, enabling her to partner effectively with business operations to develop and execute practical solutions to create sustainable growth that enhances shareholder value through productivity improvements, cost reductions, and finance management.

39. Kelley Rainwater, Finance Change & Operations Model Design Director, Silicon Valley Bank

Kelley is a senior Change Management & Transformation Leader with over 20 years’ experience building & managing OE teams and personally delivering business case driven change initiatives to support organizational redesigns, process improvement, ERP/dev ops/agile/digital/CRM, commerce, and digital transformations, M&As, revenue enhancement, and other complex, large-scale change programs with global impacts of over 100,000+ stakeholders.?

40. Christelle Ramen, CFO, North America, ClubMed

Christelle is a Finance Executive with 20 years of experience in the travel industry, in Europe, Africa and Middle-East, and North America.

Solution-oriented, she is involved in all aspects of the business, from operations to sales and support. Christlle’s goal is to retain and attract talents to work towards executing on a successful business strategy.

41. Dhivya Suryadevara, CFO, Stripe

Dhivya is the Chief Financial Officer of Stripe, a global technology company that builds economic infrastructure for the internet.

She was previously the Chief Financial Officer of General Motors. Dhivya has been recognized for her career accomplishments including MotorTrend’s 2020 Power List, Automotive News’ 2019 All Stars, Fortune’s Most Powerful Women to Watch, 40 Under 40 (Fortune magazine and Crain’s Detroit Business), World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders and others. She previously served on the board of the Girl Scouts of Greater New York.

42. Meena Srinivasan, CFO, Ginger

As an operational hands-on CFO, Meena partners with executive teams to help technology startups scale from inception. through global expansion, and profitable exits.

She thrives in finding solutions for all stages of fast-paced changing environments and hires high-caliber teams that implement scalable processes and infrastructure to achieve optimal results.?

43. Jenny Kray, CFO, Ashling Partners

Jenny thrives leading efficient and effective finance and operational teams for high-growth technology companies.

She has over 20 years experience at small to large enterprise software and SaaS companies that were either private-equity owned or publicly traded, also having vast experience in global M&A transactions on both sides of the transaction, including pitching to potential buyers, due diligence and integration management.

44. Tracey Travis, EVP & CFO, The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.

Tracey has held senior finance roles at Rexam Beverage Can, Ralph Lauren, and is now the EVP and CFO at The Estée Lauder Companies Inc.

She is also experienced in board governance, having sat on boards at Accenture (and still does), Campbells Soup Company, Joann Stores, Lincoln Center Theater, NY Womens Forum, and others.?

45. Ana Sirbu, CFO, Nitro Inc.

Ana is responsible for the overall financial leadership of the business, including financial planning and analysis (FP&A), reporting, and budget planning. As CFO, Ana also helps to drive corporate strategy as a key contributor to company growth and direction.

Ana was named one of the Top 25 Women Leaders in Financial Technology in 2020 and was recognized by the Women in Fintech Powerlist in 2017. Ana was also previously recognized as one of Growth Cap’s 40 Under 40 top growth technology investors.

46. Linda Zukauckas, CFO, Nielsen

Linda Zukauckas is Nielsen’s Chief Financial Officer and has responsibility for Financial Strategy globally. Prior to Nielsen, Linda was Deputy CFO at American Express, where she had Business CFO responsibilities globally.

She previously held the positions of Chief Accounting Officer and Controller at AmEx, and also served as the executive sponsor of the global Women’s Interest Network. From mid-2014 through January 2020 Linda served on the Board of Directors of American Express Global Business Travel, a 50/50 JV.

47. Jayne King, Head of Finance, The British Library

In her role as Head of Finance, Jayne ensures that users of the library’s services get the best value possible out of the money that the library is given, and gives assurance that resources are properly managed and accounted for.

She also coordinates the work of four departments covering Accounting, Procurement, Assurance including Legal & Contract Services and Employee Services to support this work.

48. Marie Charpentier, VP Finance, InfoSum

Marie has 10 years experience in corporate finance, including Reporting, Statutory Accounts, Audit, and Tax Returns. She currently works as VP of Finance at InfoSum, helping businesses to reclaim their data destiny and build better customer experiences.?

49. Laura Fuentes, CFAO, Africa, Latin America & The Caribbean, Fundación Capital

Laura is a strong leader with expertise in training financial management teams and improving the growth and financial skills to achieve corporate objectives.

She has a proven ability to improve operations, impact business growth, and maximize profits through contributions in financial management, cost reductions, and productivity improvements. Laura is proficient in overseeing FP&A, accounting, compliance/control, reporting, payroll and digital transformation.

50. Dr. Nashwa Saleh, Director & Senior Lecturer, Cranfield School of Management

Nashwa has more than 20 years experience across global EM with a special focus on EMEA. She is a Certified Non-Executive Director (CNED) by the UK IoD. She has held various senior equity, debt and capital markets roles with a number of international organizations and regulatory bodies.

Her track record spanned mandates with EBRD, AfDB, Central Bank of Egypt, S&P Global and KPMG Corporate Finance.?

WFF will continue to champion women in finance and we hope to add more powerful women to our speaker roster throughout this year and beyond.

Our upcoming events include World Finance Forum London on March 24-25, and we’re heading stateside on April 20-21 for World Finance Forum Miami .

We hope to see you soon ??